Ackar
Ackar is an aged and skilled warrior for the Fire Tribe. Early Life Ackar was once a young mercenary on Spherus Magna, gaining the attention of his Elemental Lord. He was respected, but would later come back to hate what he had done for a price. When the Core War came, he joined the fight and had many battles. One such battle was teaming up with Malum to fight against Kijori and Perditus. They were successful in repelling the two enemies, but it started to make Ackar think about his ways. Bara Magna After the Shattering, Ackar found his way to Vulcanus where more of his people were gathering. He became a guardian of the village and ended up staying, becoming a permanent member of its society, as well as their primary Glatorian. He came to the walls of the village one day and met Exuro as Kryr tried to deal with him. Exuro only desired shelter for some time before moving on, but when Ackar questioned him and realized he was naturally born into the Fire Tribe, he tried to convince Exuro to stay in Vulcanus. The two went to meet Raanu to discuss the option. Exuro, stating the city was in ruins, agreed to join. As the year passed, Ackar made Exuro his apprentice, his second in command. He trusted his style to Exuro and only Exuro. Years later, he was in Tajun fighting Tarix and won. While he was there, he had seen the secondary and various trainees using the same sword style, Ackar's style. Ackar had been told by Tarix that Exuro had been there recently, and had returned to confront his apprentice. When Exuro admitted what he had done, the two men drew their blades. As the two dueled, Ackar soon overcame his opponent, cutting him through and shedding Exuro's blood on himself, making him hate the sight of blood for the next year due to how close they had been. He ordered Exuro to leave and to never return. Exuro went into the exile, self imposed, instead of going to another village. Early on in the society of Bara Magna, he became the champion in Arena Magna and gained respect through the planet. He also became friends with Vastus during this time, who would go on to defeat him in the following years. During the various attacks on the village by Bone Hunters, he would lead the defense, but would slowly be losing ground against the bandits. He would often set out to search for new warriors, but would sometimes even leave during attacks, if there were enough warriors, and they were winning as it was, since he still fought for money, but his pride wouldn't let him ask for it from Raanu, so he would depart. During the present time, he watched as a group including Gresh, Tarix and a Skrall fought off the bandits, and departed for Tajun, running into Vastus as he watched an arena battle. He listened to some of Vastus's stories, but had to return to his village. Soon after, during a sandstorm, Fero returned with more Bone Hunters. They battled against the superior Bone Hunter numbers, but weren't able to win. Ackar was desperate, and eventually, Malum came to Vulcanus's defense. He spoke briefly with his former friend, and continued to push the enemy bandits back, eventually freeing Vulcanus. A few days later he had a battle against Strakk. Strakk acted obnoxious as he arrived, and Ackar was determined to win, to knock him down a few pegs. Ackar was in the end defeated, however. Zendra approached her later after a run in with Malum, but he didn't believe the story that the Skrall and Bone Hunters were in league, and went back to his training. Ackar was later forced to fight a Skrall for water, with Vulcanus running dangerously low. He fought valiantly, but Raanu allowed the fight to go too far, and he was rendered into a light coma, awaking weeks later, presumed to die. He awoke with Vastus at his side. Ackar was later present in the arena at Vulcanus, waiting for his new opponent to arrive for training. When Mata Nui walked in, he didn't know this wasn't his opponent, and fought him. He eventually learned more from Mata Nui, and took him out training. While they fought in the desert and trained, a Sand Bat attacked and nearly killed Ackar. He was saved thanks to Mata Nui's power, and told Mata Nui his story. He joined Mata Nui in the arena after speaking to Raanu. The two fought against Tarix and Vastus, and were ultimately defeated by the superior tag-team. The two remained friends and comrades in arms under Vulcanus. He later gave advice about Gresh to Mata Nui before their fight. Later, during Crotesius's "execution", he was forced into the arena to subdue the Vorox who had "killed" the traitor. He defeated the beast and had it chained. While Vastus had his team in the desert, Ackar later arrived. Instead of joining them, he took Gresh to Tesara where there was trouble. He dropped Gresh off and departed back to his own village. Ackar later met with Tarix and Strakk to discuss the matter of a traitor in their midst, thinking of different possibilities for whom it could be. On the night before Arena Magna, he joined Mata Nui, Gresh, Kiina, Tarix, Metus, Berix and Raanu through the desert. He told stories about his past, and listened to other stories. During the morning he fought through Bone Hunters as they attempted to slay the group, and eventually learned that Raanu was the traitor. He was ordered to kill Mata Nui, but instead, cut off Raanu's hand. Before he could kill Raanu, the traitor fled, only to be killed by Mata Nui later. During the tournament he had a few fights, and spoke with his team. He defeated Perditus in an awkward battle between two comrades, and had a rematch with Strakk, which he again lost. He later helped defeat Stronius during the Skrall attack, and hoped that Mata Nui could defeat Tuma's invasion. After the invasion, he joined the battle in Iconox against Baterra, and again later in Vulcanus fought against Mata Nui to get him ready for his fight with Tuma. He was defeated, and approved of Mata Nui's skills before he departed for Tesara. Holy Spherus Magna Empire Six months after Mata Nui defeated Tuma and brought the Skrall under his control, Ackar started to have nightmares about his deceased apprentice, Exuro. Ackar serves as one of Mata Nui's generals. When Mata Nui returned from the Empire, and declared war, he informed Ackar of Exuro's survival, shocking the veteran warrior. Mata Nui then tested his powers, showing that they no longer worked properly to Ackar, both in shock of the power of the Lords stolen powers. They decided that if they could destroy the Lord of Fire's tablet, they may restore Mata Nui's power to completion. Ackar told him that he should have killed Exuro, but soon took it back, preferring his apprentice alive, hoping to change him. Ackar later stood at Sandray Canyon, looking over the sands, thinking of how they looked like blood. He thought about how he met Exuro, and then saw Exuro standing on the other side, opposing him, meeting for the first time in years. The two spoke briefly. Ackar questioned if he wanted vengeance, but Exuro replied that he had found faith, and he only wanted to defeat Ackar to prove himself. The two spoke of faith and of the Empire for a brief amount of time, before Ackar admitted that Exuro made him sick, stealing from him, giving his life, but surviving instead and still using the stolen style. Exuro, however, claimed that he was better than before, and attempted to jump Sandray Canyon. As Exuro made the jump, so did Ackar. The two clashed in the air as they fell, clashing their blades. Exuro said he would be the one to survive, and he shot his bladed fingers out, attempting to secure himself. While he was holding Exuro, they were both swinging at high speed towards the cliff wall, and Ackar was the one who would be crushed. Explosions hit the spots where the claws were dug in, dropping them both down with rubble. Skrall below were there to help Ackar. As they hit the rubble, Ackar fell into a crevice and laid still. After the Skrall were mostly butchered by Invado, and Exuro escaped, Ackar questioned where the survivors were heading. They responded that they were going to Roxtus, to see Mata Nui. When they arrived, Ackar told Mata Nui about his duel with Exuro, and about Invado. He explained the function of Invado's weapon to Mata Nui, who didn't understand firearms. Mata Nui then responded that he was sending a force at the Empire, to Ackar's surprise. Later, every general had joined Mata Nui on a quest to the north, to seek out supplies after hearing about the Moment's Reprieve. Instead of sending weaker scouts out, who would be killed with greater ease by any Empire warriors still around after Invado's attack, the generals left on the quest, hoping to be able to fend off any dangers. As night started to grow near, they searched for the safehouse which had housed the Moment's Reprieve. They figured that if it was good enough in the Core War, it would be good enough to spend the night inside of. After some time, Mata Nui asked about the Despiders that Halix had reported seeing. The Skrall amongst them told Mata Nui that they had seen some on their move to Roxtus, but didn't know very much about them. Mata Nui asked if the Skrall knew anything else, but they said they were in it only for survival, not to learn about monsters of the land. They told the group what the spiders could do, about their acid and strength. Tarix and Ackar both responded that they had never heard of nor seen the creatures during the Core War, and expressed hope not to run into any now. Mata Nui asked Ackar about his wounds from his duel with Exuro. Ackar responded softly that they were healing, and started to think about his former apprentice and friend. He started talking about him, how he wished he could change Exuro and bring him back. Tarix put his opinion in alongside Mata Nui's, that Exuro had chosen his path already, and he was the one who chose to oppose Ackar. It was Exuro's fault. Vires broke the conversation by announcing they had arrived. As they descended into the pit, Mata Nui tested his powers, changing an aged sword back to it's "prime", even though his powers were now limited. He and Click took the first watch for the night as the pit was sealed. In the morning, the group set out, about to go either farther north, or return to Roxtus and Bara Magna. The Iron Tribe attacked, led by Sahmad, who had joined the Empire now. The Iron Tribe warriors were working together, which was remarked as something no one had ever seen. Mata Nui ordered a strategy of countering their attacks to repel them. That failed when Sahmad threw a sack of Thornax fruits at the group, and blew them all apart with another fruit, sending them into the underground tunnel systems. After the explosion, the generals, Mata Nui and his bodyguard found themselves in an underground chamber. It was brought to attention that their best bet was to place ambushes to buy them some time, which Mata Nui said he would do with the power of the Ignika. As Mata Nui began to deploy ambushes into the walls with his powers of life, the generals spoke among themselves, wondering if and when backup would arrive due to their absences, and how many more Iron Tribe warriors would pursue them. Validus and the bodyguard began to argue over who would stand guard over the passage, to which Mata Nui put to an end. They wondered how long they would hold out, due to the rations each side had. Soon, Gresh and Kiina met up with the Iron Tribe attackers. They raced into battle, attacking the Iron Tribe. Sahmad noticed this, and focused his attention on Gresh, for their battle in Tesara, and his subsequent departure from Bara Magna at the hands of Vastus. The battles raged on around Gresh and Sahmad, as Kiina attacked the entire Iron Tribe force. Kiina soon met up with Mata Nui and his men, and helped them to escape, before going back for Gresh, who had abandoned his weapons, angering Sahmad, and attacked him with his brutal style of fighting. Upon the mention of Saga from Gresh, Sahmad attacked again. He ran Gresh through the gut with his sword, and was scared off when Mata Nui approached, making him flee. Gresh was taken back by the bodyguard and Kiina for proper healing, while Mata Nui and his men walked. When Mata Nui was sending Tarix to lead the troops to attack the Empire, he questioned if Tarix would even be safe on this mission. Mata Nui was sure he would be. When Mata Nui declared that they were going to attack the Empire personally, Ackar went along with him. Upon arrival in the Empire fortress, Ackar started to battle with Exuro after listening to Mata Nui speak. He believed that Mata Nui only thought of his own universe and his own people as "real", and was a little taken aback. He ignored it and fought Exuro, cutting him across the chest, leaving him for dead. After the battle, Mata Nui and his men fled. The Lord of Sand created a sandstorm, drawing Mata Nui, Gresh and Ackar away, and bringing them to robed warriors who awaited them. These figures turned out to be the Sisters of the Skrall, led by Shakra and Fracta. Mata Nui began to speak to Shakra, as she told him her plans, he told her that he could use his connection with the Great Beings to attempt to find them after he got his body back, if only they would ally with him. They refused, and Shakra told him that she had been using the Empire, and she had no wishes to leave the Empire at this point, not when she could still use them. It turned out that she had been playing them. A few Sisters in her party had not been, and turned on her, only to be killed for their betrayal. Mata Nui was unable to convince Shakra to join him, unfortunately. She left Fracta to deal with them, and departed. Fracta had gone against her former word to Mata Nui, and prepared to attack. When Fracta came at Mata Nui and himself, Ackar attempted to fight her off. He wasn't aware of the power of her weaponry, and was quickly defeated by Fracta's overwhelming mental powers, and her mental weaponry, even fighting alongside Gresh. When Mata Nui defeated Fracta, he offered her the chance to join them. As the group pressed on, wary of their new comrade, they eventually ran into Telluris, who wasn't dead. He used his Skopio war machine to attack the group, attempting to murder them all. In the end, thanks to all of their combined efforts, they were able to bring it down, and Telluris with it. Ackar put his sword to Telluris's throat, and when he wouldn't submit, and Ackar couldn't kill him, Fracta pushed Ackar's arm to sever the man's throat. The group pressed on after this. As they continued, Gresh informed the others that he was going back to deal with Saga, unable to return to Bara Magna until it was done. As the group exited the enemy territory, they came upon others. Fearing for an attack, the three warriors readied themselves, only to find Tarix. He was excited to see them, and had brought an army with him. He questioned if Fracta was a prisoner, and where Gresh was. After being briefed on the situation, and Fracta gaining a bit of distaste for him after his assumption, the unit moved forward, back to the Empire to attack it and hopefully end the war. Ackar later appeared again at the end of the battle to inform Mata Nui that the Lords escaped, and also coordinated efforts to capture or kill the enemy forces who had surrendered or continued to fight. Abilities and Traits Ackar is a wise warrior, and an honorable man. In his youth he was greedy, often saying, "Pay a man enough and he'll walk barefoot into hell." or some variation of it, indicating his policy on money. He grew up after the war, and after losing his apprentice, Exuro, became a more realistic man. He became close friends with Mata Nui, also possessing a strong sense of duty. For one year, Ackar had been afraid of blood, after shedding Exuro's onto himself in combat when Exuro had betrayed his trust. Weapons Ackar uses a Thornax Launcher and a sword with a fire based design. During the Core War, the sword had an elemental charge, allowing for fire attacks.